Blog

The recent NAR commission lawsuit and the negative headlines that have followed have created a challenging environment for everyone in our industry. 

There’s a lot of fear out there. As leaders, agents will look to YOU not only for direction but as a role model in how to navigate all these changes, especially in terms of what to say and how to say it when they are confronted by consumers reading national news headlines such as Business Insider’s “Real-Estate Agents Are Ripping Off Homebuyers,” Fortune’s “Americans are taxed $60 billion in real estate commissions”, and HousingWire’s “Missouri jury finds Realtors, brokerages guilty of conspiring and collusion.” 

That’s some serious weaponization against our industry and our reputation that will lead to questions your agents are not confident in answering.   

Related reading: Leading Through the Storm: Guiding Your Agents Through Times of Change and Controversy 

Here’s how you can help them:  

1. Talk to them. Sounds simple, right? But, it’s not, and we understand that. As leaders, most of you are still trying to filter the information yourselves so you know how you want to approach all these changes for your organization. What we’re saying is don’t wait. Let this be an ongoing conversation. Because we can tell you that a good percentage of the agents flooding to our webinars on this topic and in our coaching calls are flat out telling us that they are not getting the answers they need from their brokerages or their associations.  
2. Provide clear and accurate information. Help them wade through the noise and provide them with clear and accurate information about these lawsuits and their impact on the industry. This will help agents to understand the situation and make informed decisions about their businesses. We can help you with that – we’ve got a pretty comprehensive resource page of NAR Commission Lawsuit Training and Tools put together that we will continue to update weekly with new information.  
3. Model great resilience. If you seem fearful and overwhelmed, they will too. Just as kids look to their parents to gauge how they should act and react when they are unsure or something feels off, so do your agents look to you. The stronger you are for them, the stronger and more confident they will be with their clients and communities.  
4. Offer support and guidance. They need your support more than ever; that is what they will be looking for in OTHER brokerages if they aren’t finding it at their work “home”.  What does that support look like? Could be coaching, team meetings, access to resources and new tools, and even an open-door policy to help them know they aren’t flying solo on all of this and that you will have their backs.  
5. Help agents to develop new skills. The number one skill you can help agents develop right now is communication, because that is what it will take for them to share their value and that of our industry to clients and customers. Not canned scripts – but skills.  
6. Emphasize the value that agents provide. Real estate leaders should emphasize the value that agents provide to their clients. This could involve creating marketing materials that highlight the benefits of working with a real estate agent, or developing training programs that help agents to communicate their value to clients. 
7. Help agents to answer the questions they will get from clients. The bottom line is they are going to get questions from clients about the NAR commission lawsuit and other negative news stories that are uncomfortable to answer. Talk through these with them and encourage them to come to you or their coach with those questions so they can practice how to answer them with confidence.  

Here’s an example of one we just got on the Commission Conversations After the NAR Bombshell webinar:

“What do we say immediately when the public mentions the lawsuit and asks us to explain?” 

Darryl’s answer was, “I would say, listen, here’s what I know, Mr. and Mrs. Hunna Hunna: The plaintiff’s attorney got a contingent payment of $500 million, and he was in court for two weeks. And after he won that same day, he filed another class-action lawsuit against some other real estate companies to get another $500 million. So, I question his motive, if the suit does not win an appeal, each homeowner in the suit gets a small fraction of that – thousands, but he and his firm will get an estimated $500 million.  The other thing I know is that almost 90% of all homeowners list with an agent and sell through an agent. 

If we did not help homeowners, if weren’t of value, if homeowners didn’t make more money with us, then 90% of people would be FSBOs, and REALTORS® would not have been around for almost 200 years. I wasn’t in the courtroom, so I don’t know. But these two things I do know.”

Here’s something WE know – you are resilient. Your agents are resilient. Our industry is resilient. With a little patience and a whole lot of digging in, we will come out the other side of all this stronger. We’ve seen examples throughout real estate history where disruptors appeared, but this industry adapted and improved. Whatever it is you need to help your team stand strong, just call us. We believe in you and them, and not only are we in your corner, but we are committed to making a difference. Reach out anytime.  

Related reading: Uncoupling Real Estate Commissions

Related reading: Inman – ‘Reframe and repeat’: 5 ways to be a better leader for your agents  

Know that agents do NOT have to go it alone in this market. Our goal is to bring the tools, training, and coaching each needs to not only survive the shifts – but build solid, dependable foundations they can count on and help them build clients for life. If that sounds like a goal that can help you reach YOUR goals – then join us for our Free Weekly Real Estate Webinar Training Series! Click below to register for the next one!

Darryl Davis is an award-winning international speaker, real estate and business coach, and best-selling author of three books, all published by McGraw Hill Publishers.   

For more than 35 years, Darryl has spoken to and trained more than 100,000 sales professionals around the globe to more than double their production year after year. His book, How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate, tops Amazon’s charts for one of the most sold books to real estate agents.   

He was awarded the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation by the National Speaker’s Association which is given to less than 2% of all speakers worldwide.   

Whether from a stage or Zooming into a virtual room, Darryl’s extraordinary humor, relatability, and natural gift for teaching real-world, results-producing skills and mindsets to audiences have made him a client favorite throughout his career.   

Audiences will laugh, learn, and ultimately walk away better prepared for a changing world, with the tools, skills, and training they need to build their businesses with more ease and less stress and to design lives and careers worth smiling about.   

Bring One of Darryl’s W.O.R.K. Topics to Your Organization!  

By providing your agents with the knowledge and insights they need to stay ahead of the game, you can ensure that they are equipped to handle any situation that comes their way! Contact us here to learn more!